Disturbing details released in plot to kidnap, kill 10-year-old girl

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O'FALLON, MO (KTVI)- A 17-year-old boy planned to kidnap and kill a 10-year-old girl in O’Fallon, Missouri. The suspect knew the victim through her brother. Both of them are students at Fort Zumwalt West. According to police, John Classen has been charged with kidnapping, burglary and abuse of a child. The teenager’s bond is set at $1.5 million.

Authorities found details of the plot on the suspect’s cell phone. He planned on kidnapping the girl, sexually assaulting her, smothering her and taking pictures of the body before leaving town. The first part of Classen’s plan worked. Shortly after midnight Thursday, police say Classen entered the girl’s home through a window that he left unlocked a few days earlier during a visit with her brother. Police say Classen waited in the basement for nearly four hours before grabbing the girl from a couch, where she was sleeping. He struggled with the 10-year-old and dragged her to his nearby car. Moments later, the girl’s family realized that she was gone.

Police said the suspect stopped in a nearby wooded area with the girl for a short time, but he was caught at a police check point that was quickly set up after the girl’s family called 911.

The young girl hurt her ankle during the kidnapping and has a few bruises and scratches on her body, but police said she was not seriously hurt.